"That they are, Mara. They're soft also to help cushion their eggs underneath of them when they're nesting in the spring. Imagine sitting on top of an egg with hard crunchy feathers underneath of you. That wouldn't be very helpful to hatch the egg, now would it?" He nodded when Mara incredulously asked about the tears of a phoenix healing wounds. He didn't have a chance to respond before Mara was asking about the personality of the barn owl that he'd shown her a few minutes ago.

"This particular lady," Remi stated with a soft smile as he stretched his hand out to trail a callused finger down her soft feathers, "she's a bit feisty, but she's the fiercest mama I've ever seen. She's had four eggs total and wouldn't hardly let me near them to see them when they were born." Pointing across the shop to a pair of owls that were similar in size and their coloring was reminiscent of their mother's, Jeremiah continued speaking. "Those two are the ones that are left from her nests. Her first two were very sweet owls, they sold fairly quickly after they were ready to, but these two gentlemen, they are quite fierce. I'm afraid to sell them to anyone and I often don't let people touch them because they'll nip hard enough to draw blood. But they're big enough with their father's genes in them to fly the longer distances. I need them for my bigger packages so they stick around. I just don't let people touch them."

  

"That's good that they have their own soft feathers. I just have to bundle up when it gets cold!" Mara said. "Lucky owls." she remembered when the winter was very cold and her Mumma had made her a new pair of socks. She supposed that, in a way, the owls' feathers were like their own pairs of nice socks, except their feet didn't have feathers on them.

Mara nodded as he described the barn owl. She knew that her Mumma would protect her, just like the owl would protect her babies until they were big enough to go out and find new homes where they would deliver letters. "They probably don't want to leave their Mumma. Especially if she's so nice and protective of them!" she giggled a little. "At least they get to deliver letters. They look like they have nice, big wings!" she held her arms out to imitate the wingspan of an owl. She imagined them delivering packages and then flying right back to their Mumma at the Owl Emporium. What fun!

"I wish I could fly like an owl. They don't have to use brooms like we do." she said thoughtfully.

  

"I agree, young Miss Mara. I would love to fly like an owl. I used to fly on my broom playing quidditch but it was never quite the same. It's one of the reasons why I like working with the owls so much. They have a natural way to fly that's easy to watch but hard to imitate. I do have to say though," Jeremiah paused with a wink, "I think you have a bigger wingspan than any of these owls here. You'd be able to fly farther than these guys for sure."

Walking over to where a nonmagical broom sat, Jeremiah grabbed it and walked back to where Mara was gathering feathers. He could magic away some of their droppings after they ate but the spells only dried them out and then he would have to sweep up the mess. Tugging his wand free of his pants pocket, Remi used it to do the hot-air charm that would enable him to clean up easier.

Now that he was able to, Jeremiah started sweeping. It was quiet for a moment, with Mara getting feathers and him sweeping. But he was never one who could stay in the quiet for too long. "So, Miss Mara," he said after a moment of peace, "How is your mum doing? What about your grandfather? Tell me all about their days."

  

Now that he was able to, Jeremiah started sweeping. It was quiet for a moment, with Mara getting feathers and him sweeping. But he was never one who could stay in the quiet for too long. "So, Miss Mara," he said after a moment of peace, "How is your mum doing? What about your grandfather? Tell me all about their days."

Mara nodded, "When I'm bigger, I'm gonna make a spell that lets you fly as far as you want to, just by flapping your arms like an owl." she said seriously, not knowing any of the basics of how spell creating would even work. She looked at the owls. Maybe she would have to grow feathers.

She watched in wonder as he used the wand to clear away the owl droppings. No matter how many times she saw it used, it was always wonderful for her. Maybe when she got a wand of her own, in a few years, she'd have more of a control on her emotions around magic. Mara just loved how you could use almost nothing to do so much.

She paused to think about her family. "Well, mum's doing alright. They still have her on at the store, so sometimes me and Puddles go visit there. We can't see her from outside, but they only let us in occasionally. I guess they don't like cats." She didn't know why they always shooed her out, even without Puddles. Mara didn't much like talking about her grandparents. They were stuffy and boring and cared way too much about things that Mara didn't understand. "Grandpa's still a lawyer. He always talks about being head of department some day. He's boring." she mock-yawned.